


Two Soldiers and a Baby

by sadsongssaysomuch



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Adoption, Bucky Barnes's Metal Arm, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, baby feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-13
Updated: 2014-06-13
Packaged: 2018-02-04 11:18:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1777159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sadsongssaysomuch/pseuds/sadsongssaysomuch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one where Steve and Bucky adopted a baby.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Two Soldiers and a Baby

Steve and Bucky sat cuddled together on the couch, the aftermath of the party around them. Bucky sighed as he watched the brightly colored balloons bob near the ceiling.

“We’ll clean up tomorrow, I’m too tired now,” he said, nodding at the shreds of wrapping paper and bows that covered the living room floor. He knew the kitchen was a mess too.

Steve slung his arm around Bucky and pulled him close, grabbing the photo album from the coffee table. He flipped it open as he murmured, “The mess can wait. Can you believe we have a one year old now?”

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Steve wanted a baby. He had been dropping hints for months. Bucky never specifically said no, he didn't say much on the subject at all. He didn't want to see the disappointment on Steve's face if he told him he didn't think he was ready to be a father.

It wasn't that Bucky didn't like kids. He liked them just fine, but he didn't think kids liked him all that much. Not only that, but they were so small, fragile, so breakable. It worried Bucky enough that he was hesitant to bring a child into their lives.

What made Bucky say yes, in the end, was the way Steve looked at babies. The way his eyes softened at the sight of chubby cheeks, bald heads and gummy smiles. If it made Steve happy, they would adopt.

The process took forever, even with the help of certain connections Tony had. They weren't picky, they didn't care if they brought home a boy or a girl, if the baby was light skinned or dark skinned, or even if there were issues that would make other adopters hesitate.

It wasn’t Tony, but Bruce who ended up making Steve's dream of fatherhood come true. From an orphanage in Calcutta, where he was working, he sent Steve and Bucky pictures of an adorable baby girl. Upon seeing the pictures, Steve declared her perfect and Bucky had to agree. Her name was Kali, she was two months old, she had big, beautiful, brown eyes and she needed surgery to repair a cleft lip. They had no problem making sure the surgery was paid for and within a few days, they were on their way to bring home their daughter from India.

The conditions were deplorable and if he could have, Steve would have taken all of the children home with him. As it was, they donated a very generous amount, anonymously of course, but they both felt guilty that they couldn't do more.

The first time Steve held Kali in his arms, everything else just faded away. Bucky watched as the man he loved went from strong, snarky super soldier to a big, cuddly puddle of goo.

Tears rolled down his face as Bucky watched Steve holding Kali. Their daughter. “We’re a family now. It’s not just the two of us anymore,” Bucky said reverently.

Steve looked up at him, sporting a wide grin. "Bucky, she's beautiful.”

Bucky nodded, smiling widely.

“ And she's ours," Steve said in awe. "Do you wanna hold her? I don’t want to be a baby hog."

Bucky froze, a lump in his throat. "No!" He shook his head. "No," he said more softly. "You're doing a good job, you just hang onto her for now, I'll take my turn later."

Throughout the rest of the trip, and the flight home, Bucky always seemed to have an excuse to avoid picking up or holding Kali. It wasn't hard, Steve was always right there whenever Kali so much as blinked or yawned. And Kali loved Steve, easily snuggling against his broad chest and falling asleep in his arms. Bucky was content to watch the two of them together, to occasionally make faces at Kali over Steve's shoulder. It was easy to see that Steve was smitten; he loved everything about being a father, from diaper changes to feedings to the late night crying.

In fact, they were home for two weeks, adjusting to fatherhood before Steve noticed that Bucky was avoiding Kali.

"Bucky, when was the last time you held Kali?"

Bucky hung his head, looking intently at his stocking feet.

Steve searched his memory before putting his hands on Bucky's shoulders. Bucky looked up at Steve, shame in his eyes.

"I haven’t," he said simply.

"Bucky... why not? Don't you love her?" Steve's eyes flicked protectively to where Kali was napping in her crib.

"I do Steve. I love her as much as I love you. I'm just afraid of hurting her."

Steve's eyes widened in shock. "Buck, why would you think that? You've never hurt me. I know you can be gentle," he said, caressing Bucky's metal arm.

Bucky recoiled. "She's a baby Steve."

"I know that."

"And you're you. There's a big difference."

Steve shook his head, pulling Bucky towards him. “I won’t force you, take your time. But you do love her, right? You don’t regret bring her home, making her ours?”

“Not for a minute. She’s the sweetest baby ever. And even if she was a squalling mess, she makes you happy, and that makes me happy.”

“Then that’s enough for me”

A few nights later, Steve woke up to find that Bucky was missing from the bed. He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and looked around the room. Swinging his legs out of bed, he padded across the carpet to and into the hallway. He found Bucky, sitting in the rocking chair in the corner of Kali’s room. In the soft morning light, Steve could see that Kali’s crib was empty.

He lingered in the doorway, not wanting to startle Bucky, who appeared to be sleeping. Stepping closer, Steve took in the sight before him. Bucky’s dark head drooped, his chin dropped to his chest. Kali lay cradled in his left arm, held securely against Bucky’s chest.  Her soft lashes fanned out across her plump cheeks and her lips curved into a smile.

Steve watched as her chest rose and fell, smiling at the occasional soft sighing noises that she made. He debated taking Kali out of Bucky’s arms, putting her back into her crib and taking Bucky back to bed. But it was just too sweet, he didn’t want to disturb them. So he stayed, watching them sleep until the sun came up. The two people he loved most in the world. Bucky, the friend he had known forever, had loved just as long, and Kali, the tiny baby who had so recently come into their lives. They truly were a family now.

From then on, Bucky was just as hands on with Kali as Steve was. They fell into an easy routine, with Bucky taking the middle of the night feedings and Steve being the one to get up early.

Steve took so many pictures, not just of Kali, but of Bucky too. Like the time he tried feeding her squash for the first time and more of it ended up on Bucky’s face and in his hair than in Kali’s mouth. Or the way Kali would grin when Bucky held her with his metal arm, whooshing her around the room like an airplane.  Bucky took pictures too, always catching Steve in the most embarrassing moments, like after bath time when Kali had discovered that splashing Daddy Steve was the most fun thing ever.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

As Steve turned the pages, looking through the album of their first year with Kali, he remembered each moment perfectly.  Seeing the pictures now, it made them both realize how lucky they were. Lucky to have each other and lucky to have the opportunity to raise such a wonderful daughter.  Steve smiled, closing the album when he felt Bucky’s head drop onto his shoulder.

“Hey, Buck, wake up so we can go to bed,” he said, nudging Bucky gently.

Bucky jolted awake, looking at Steve indignantly. “I was not asleep,” he protested.

“Sure.” Steve led Bucky to the bedroom and chuckled to himself when Bucky fell into bed and started snoring immediately. Before he crawled into bed alongside him, Steve took one last peek at Kali. She too was out like a light.

“Guess the party wore them both out,” he said softly to himself.

**Author's Note:**

> unbeta'd so any mistakes are all mine  
> I have such cute pictures in mind to go with this, too bad I can't draw them!


End file.
